Between 2016 and 2017, total expenditures on food increased nearly $526 for the 130,001 consumers tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to analysis from the Food Institute in its latest Demographics of Consumer Food Spending report. Spending for food at-home and food away-from-home jumped $314 and $211, respectively, in 2017. Decreases were reported across all age brackets for both at-home and away-from-home spending, with the 35-44 bracket decreasing its at-home food spend by $402.
Generation Z, or those under 25, spent a relatively equal amount on food at-home vs. away-from-home, while that gap widened in older generations. Millennials and Generation X spent about 54-55% of their food budgets on food at-home, compared to about 59% for Baby Boomers.